Further Reading

Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend Pennsylvania Avenue was
closed-off to protect the White House from terrorist bombs. Soon this body
will deliberate legislation designed to restrict domestic terrorism in the
wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. In the aftermath of such historic and
tragic events there have been some sensational proposals about how we might
prevent future acts of domestic terrorism. Mr. Speaker. I am concerned that
some of the recommendations for deterring terrorism threaten to trample
civil liberties. I believe it would be a serious mistake to jeopardize the
rights and freedoms of all citizens in the name of preventing potential
acts of madness. Our freedom is our greatest strength. I encourage my
colleagues to remember this and commend you to consider the points raised
in this St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial.

[FROM ST. LOUIS DISPATCH, APRIL 25, 1995]

Skepticism toward government--even a measure of cynicism--is a healthy
thing in a democracy. It means people are on guard against an overreaching
government. But something has been at work in recent years that goes beyond
skepticism or mistrust. It comes down to hate, and in Oklahoma City, the
nation has seen first hand what hate can do.

The various paramilitary groups that can be found in so many states,
including Missouri, are cauldrons of distrust and suspicion in which hate is
easily brewed. Some groups call themselves survivalists, others say they are
militias, and all are proud to proclaim themselves patriots. Their credo is
that the government is the enemy, and they must arm themselves against it.
Under this paranoid scenario, everything the government does is intended to
enslave people--income taxes, Social Security numbers and, above all, gun
control.

If men want to dress up in battle fatigues and play soldier in the woods,
that is harmless enough in itself. But things don't always stop there. For
the drilling and the target practice to retain their allure, a threat must
loom. It is, of course, the government, that large, impersonal force out
there. However, until the attack comes, more immediate threats must be found
so as to keep everyone alert and ready to hate. Jews or blacks, or both,
usually suffice.

Self-appointed paramilitary groups that soon turn themselves into
vigilantes are not new in American history. This surge, though, may owe its
growth to that relatively new phenomenon known as hate radio, which
unrelievedly preaches contempt of government and ridicule of those in power.
President Bill Clinton took note of this disturbing development in
Minneapolis Monday, reminding Americans that hate radio hosts' `bitter words
can have bitter consequences.'

This is not to say there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the
anti-government propaganda of hate radio and what happened in Oklahoma City.
Rather, hate radio provides the background music for extremists. Tell people
often enough and long enough that their government can do no right and that
the people in it are incompetent or dishonest or sinister, and eventually
some of them will conclude that the government is a force for evil. Moreover,
it is not difficult to find government excesses to cite as supporting
evidence. In this way, a small group of unstable people, susceptible to the
message of hate, decides to launch a pre-emptive strike, or take retaliatory
action, against a government facility.

The risk now is that the country will overreact. The first impulse is to
see all paramilitary groups that cavort in the woods as terrorists in
training. The second is to think that constitutional rights must be
jettisoned to combat the threat they pose. No one wants to make it easy for
another Oklahoma City atrocity, but Congress should not give federal
law-enforcement authorities the added powers Mr. Clinton has requested
without careful thought.

Since the end of World War II, political dissenters, civil rights
organizations, anti-war groups and even Earth Day organizers have been the
target of government spying and disruption, always in the name of protecting
society. Mr. Clinton wants to give law-enforcement agencies greater authority
to place people and groups under surveillance on the basis of less evidence.
If the tools the FBI and other agencies have now are inadequate, they should
be strengthened, of course, but the bombing in Oklahoma City does not
automatically mean they are.

The last thing Congress and the administration need to do is prove that
the kooks are right.